CHICAGO — The entire Chicago Board of Education will resign effective this month, WGN News has learned. A joint statement was released Friday afternoon by the mayor’s office and board.
This comes amid tension between Mayor Johnson and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.
Martinez was appointed to run the district by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2021 and has maintained strong support from school administrators as well as influential Latino groups and aldermen.
Johnson, a former CPS teacher and Chicago Teachers Union activist, and Martinez have clashed over the mayor’s plan to use a loan to pay for mounting expenses in the district.
Two weeks ago, the Board of Education, which has seven members, declined to look at Martinez’s contract after recently passing a budget that did not include a high-interest loan to cover a gap the Johnson administration wants to fill with a loan.
In a joint statement from the mayor’s office and the board of education, they are enacting a “transition plan” that will include appointed and elected board members.
The Sun-Times, who broke the story with WBEZ, reported that this will allow Mayor Johnson to appoint a board which will fire Martinez, take the aforementioned loan and make a contact deal with the Chicago Teachers Union.
Mayor Johnson denied on Monday if he is pushed board members to resign regarding Martinez.
However, on Wednesday he told reporters at City Hall, “I was elected to fight for the people of this city, and who ever is in the way of that…Get out of it.”
Martinez wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune Sept. 24 saying he will not resign and adding context to ongoing negotiations between the district and the CTU.
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates sat down with WGN News the following day and said the union is not ruling out a strike.
The district is offering raises of four to five percent over the next four years, but CTU wants more — including the filling of 1,200 teacher vacancies, smaller class sizes, and increased assistance for bilingual students. To fund the teachers’ demands, Davis Gates wants Martinez to turn to Springfield and ask that they boost funding for all Illinois schools.
The Chicago Board of Education is the only body that has the power to fire Martinez. Last week, after not taking a look at Martinez’s contract, they instead approved a non-binding resolution promising not to close any schools until 2027 — when a fully elected board will be sworn in.
The full joint statement is below.
“Mayor Brandon Johnson and members of the Chicago Board of Education are enacting a transition plan which includes all current members transitioning from service on the Board later this month. With the shift to a hybrid elected and appointed Board forthcoming, current Board members and Mayor Johnson understand that laying a strong foundation for the shift is necessary to serve the best interests of students and families in Chicago Public Schools.
Together, Mayor Johnson and the Board fulfilled many objectives of the Johnson Administration’s vision for Chicago’s public schools, including shifting away from inequitable student-based budgeting, completing the change to a school safety model that does not rely on school resource officers and focusing on Black Student Success. Their partnership also improved special education services, increased charter school accountability in the renewal process and embarked on a new five-year strategic plan that emphasizes continued progress, investing in neighborhood schools and expanding the Sustainable Community School model in lieu of school closures.
None of the members leaving the current Board planned to continue onto the hybrid Board, and none are running for election. With the unprecedented increase in Board membership, transitioning new members now will allow them time to orient and gain critical experience prior to welcoming additional elected and appointed members in 2025.“